


Behind closed doors

by itsonlydana



Series: Lovers- Jschlatt [2]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, DreamSMP- Freeform, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Near Death Experiences, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-13 17:33:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29654826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itsonlydana/pseuds/itsonlydana
Summary: Winter came to the DreamSMP and besides ice skating, jealousy and soft mornings together, you and Schlatt are forced to think about the state of your relationship. Surely that can't be too hard?
Relationships: Clay | Dream & GeorgeNotFound, Clay | Dream & Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), Jschlatt & Toby Smith | Tubbo, Jschlatt & Toby Smith | Tubbo & Wilbur Soot & TommyInnit, Jschlatt (Video Blogging RPF)/Original Female Character(s), Niki | Nihachu & Wilbur Soot, jschlatt/reader
Series: Lovers- Jschlatt [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2152965
Comments: 4
Kudos: 40





	Behind closed doors

**Author's Note:**

> yeah, this is some angst shit - I'm sorry! In the beginning, I hadn't planned to make it that dark but then I just kept going with it. BUT that meant it was harder for me to sit down to write, because it really made me sad so I really dug myself a hole with this :,). I hope you can enjoy this!
> 
> and yes, I love the character dynamic between (y/n) and Schlatt and maybe we are going to find out why they really hated each other in the past and more.
> 
> MUSIC AND VIBES:  
> a few songs that i heard while writing and that helped me with setting the mood :D if you are interested in more - u can hit me up for the playlist
> 
> the pioneers- M83 Remix by Bloc Party ***   
> Love Story by Sarah Cothran***  
> When I Was Done Dying by Dan Deacon***  
> Anthracite Fields: IV. Flowers by Julia Wolfe***

Soft lips kissed your bare shoulder blades, rough beard stubble accompanied them on the way to your neck and brought you back from dreamland to your big, warm bed. With your eyes still closed and a sleepy smile on your face, you stretched your arms upwards and met tousled curls. The bed sunk on your right side as he sat down next to you and put his hand to your cheek to turn your head to him. By stroking his thumb over the skin, which was graced with the footprints of the pillow, you opened your eyes. “Good morning”, you mumbled and slid on the bed, so that you could use his thighs as a new pillow.

Schlatt looked down at you, brown curls falling into his face, and you brushed them behind his ear. "It snowed again.", he murmured, at which you sat up, the blanket that had warmed you so far sliding down your shoulders onto your thighs. He took advantage of the moment, wrapping his arms around you from behind and thus pulling you backward against his chest. 

Although you looked forward to mornings like this, you knew they usually didn't last long and so you relaxed, letting yourself fall against him, enjoying the feel of his heartbeat in your back, his fingers dancing over the bare skin of your arms and the kisses behind your ear, on your neck and every area he could reach in this position. You almost let yourself go, lost in the silence of the room broken only by the gentle rustle of the covers and your breathing.

"I have to go.", but all good things must come to an end. Not wanting to let your disappointment show, you forced a smile. At least you had a little longer today than the rest of the week. Still, he seemed to have noticed the change in mood, because he didn't break away from you. More like he pulled you closer. “I'm sorry, my love. I wish I could take a day off, however, negotiations with the Farlands are taking much more time than planned and we are dependent on their coal supply; we did not expect such a severe winter." "It's all good, of course, I understand how important this is.", you whisper, and your heart tightens. You didn't want to seem selfish; the residents of L'Manburg needed the coal and you were complaining about a few minutes you spent together.

You watched silently, your chin propped on your knees, as Schlatt stood in front of your mirror, gradually putting on his suit that had landed carefully folded on your dresser as it did every evening. His nimble fingers tied his tie, ran through his thick curls until they showed no trace of your night. His eyes met yours in the mirror and teasingly he wiggled his eyebrows, eliciting a laugh from you. Then he reached for a small brown casket on the dresser and came back to the bed. He knelt down in front of you at the edge of the bed and lowered his head. Carefully you opened the red velvet-lined box and took out the first necklace. Skillfully you put them around his horns, in his hair, then the second one followed and within seconds his horns were adorned with the beautiful jewels shining in the light of the lanterns outside. It had become your little ritual, a sign of mutual trust.

After standing back up, also putting on his shoes and long black coat, he stepped in front of you one last time. "I'll see you later?", he asked. You nodded in response and reached out to him. With a chuckle, he leaned down and finally kissed your lips. 

You chased after the far too brief kiss when it was long gone, eyes closed and only after the front door had slammed shut behind him, its lack of warmth replaced by the ever creeping cold, did you pull the covers around you as best you could and lay down on his side of the bed. Since he disappeared every morning before the first neighbor could wake up, fatigue quickly caught up with you and you dreamed of a never-ending morning between the sheets.

Your life had changed after the ball night. Summer and fall came and went, cocktails became hot chocolate, breezy clothes were exchanged for warm coats and boots, and instead of going to the beach, everyone now regularly gathered at the ice skating rink you had built and where you also would meet up with your friends that day. After Schlatt had disappeared, you'd retreated back to bed with a cup of tea and your favorite book and gotten ready around noon.  
You'd just taken a step out the front door, hands shoved deep into your favorite coat, you'd seen it. A little snow-shaped heart on your mailbox.

Since then, you had a dreamy smile on your face, which did not miss Niki when you met her in her bakery. You had just entered the small shop, and you were already critically inspected. “Will you ever tell me who makes you so happy?” asked the blonde, as she sorted a fresh load of steaming buns into a basket. She had braided her hair as well as she could, but the small, darkly colored strands still hung in front of her view. Groaning, she straightened herself up, stroked them behind her ear, and put her hands on her hips.

You would have loved to tell her about Schlatt, and part of you guessed that she must have noticed the change between him and you. How you'd love to tell someone how you'd snuck out in the summer and gone swimming at night, or how you'd taken walks through the colorful woods in the fall, how he'd surprised you with picnics where you'd lain side by side for hours in the middle of nowhere, making love and he'd told you stories about his travels before L'manburg. The urge to tell Niki about the way he kissed you, held you, looked at you was growing by the day. You wanted to scream out to the world that he had awakened feelings in you, that you had fallen in love with him, but you had to keep it to yourself. Not only because you and Schlatt agreed on it, but also so it was easier to forget when he stopped having fun and wanted to end your fling.

Because that’s all it was, as much as you wanted it to be more.  
“I’m just happy to go ice skating with you; are you done yet?” you lied and suppressed the sad thoughts that came up. "Right away. Take one of the buns!” Gratefully you reached into the basket, which was filled to the brim with Niki’s famous baked goods. The bun smelled inviting and you took a bite. The dough was still so warm and soft, it felt like you were biting into a summer cloud. Cinnamon, sugar, followed by Tonka bean and cardamom spread in your mouth and enticed your taste buds. "Nik, they are heavenly.”, you hummed and broke off a piece to pass it to Niki, who had been busy cleaning up before. Gratefully, she accepted it and slipped into her coat.

On the way to the city center, you met Will and persuaded him to accompany you.  
"Will, isn't Tommy with you?", you asked him after a while of talking about the upcoming winter festival. The boy had been following the Brit every step of the way lately, which was most likely because he practically adored Will and admired everything he did. The two could often be found in a small trailer with Will writing songs or telling Tommy and Tubbo about heroes’ stories, reenacting events with them and running across fields and meadows. It was all the more surprising that Tommy wasn't glued to his side now. 

"No, we had a little argument and he said he didn't feel like coming here anymore." Even though Will seemed relieved at first glance to be able to breathe in peace for once without worrying about Tommy imitating him, you could see that he was still worried.

Compassionately, you nudged him. "He's a teenager Will, you know how stubborn you were at that age." He frowned, "For that reason, I hope he doesn't screw up." "It'll be fine." Niki gently placed her hand on Will's upper arm and smiled. 

"I hope so." 

❅

The skating rink was well attended, with residents and many of your friends standing together in small groups. Every time you passed by this place, you felt a sense of pride, proud to have implemented this project as well as it was.

In the middle of the large meadow next to the trailer, the ice rink had been set up, the wooden partitions on the sides were decorated with colourful fairy lights and fir branches, just like the high entrance gate, in the arch of which was a small sprig of mistletoe for the coming Christmas season. While on one side there was a small grandstand, on the others there were single benches for resting. Your favorite feature were the floating lanterns that bathed the area in a golden light towards the evening, making skating all the more beautiful. 

After you had arrived and Niki had put down her backpack on the stand, you had taken your skates out of a box at the side; you had left them there the day before yesterday, because nobody would steal them anyway and they became cumbersome to carry in the long run.

The shoes were quickly put on, the daily dressing and undressing happened by itself and it didn’t take long before you stood at the small gate that adjoined the ice rink right in front of the grandstand. You first entered the ice, your feet automatically slid apart and you just grabbed Nikis arm.

“Shouldn’t you be able to drive well after all these days?” asked Will, who closed the door behind you and put his curls under his hat. You breathed, your breath rose up in a small cloud. "Of course I can! Probably the ice was only recently smoothed and not really driven in.”  
Knowingly, Will nodded. ”That’s right, it’s the ice. And if the fish can’t swim, it’s because of the water?” With a provocative grin, he passed you by. “See you soon!”, he laughed and drove to the other side, where Dream was leaning casually against the wall, one skate against the wood behind him, and George driving up and down in front of him.

Shaking your head, you clung more firmly to Niki: “Come on, let’s ignore him.” “He’s right, (y/n)”, Niki started with a quiet giggle “we’re definitely not as good as he is.”  
“What?” you drew the ’a' almost comedically. "Never! Take a look at him” with your chin you nodded to the man skating in circles “he consists of 80% long legs, which must be knotted eventually!” At first you could only hear a giggle, then Niki burst into loud laughter. "I bet he only takes two steps and he’s on the other end of the lane.”, Niki added, which made you laugh. You drove a few laps, made fun of Will and his bragging about driving backward, and then climbed back to the grandstand where Niki conjured up some drinks and snacks from her backpack. A short break to strengthen had never harmed anyone, especially when Nikis pastries were present.

You had made yourselves comfortable on the wooden steps, wrapped your jackets tightly around you, as it had not stopped snowing since the morning and the cold, despite Niki’s hot chocolate, slowly made its way through your clothes. Curious, you watched the ice rink where Karl, Sapnap, Dream and George finished their final round of hockey against Will, Techno, Fundy and Phil. It was 7:7 and you could smell the testosterone all the way to you. None of the boys wanted to be part of the losing team, each one had the desire for victory written on their hard-fought, wrinkled foreheads, while they played the little puck, tricked each other or shoved away one or another time or another. “One more minute!” yelled Quackity, who stood at the railing with a stopwatch and played the referee.

Your gaze shifted from Will, who played to Phil, who got the puck off Dream and chased after George to deflect the pass, to Karl, who blocked Fundy and was then pushed away by Techno, who took the puck, played it through Sapnap's legs to Will, who raced forward for the goal. The tension mounted as Will bent under George's outstretched arm and entered the opposing side of the field with the puck, getting closer and closer to the goal. Your whole body leaned further forward, your fingers gripping the hot pot of chocolate tighter, and you watched as Will turned one last time, threw a kiss of his hand in Niki's direction, lifted the hockey stick, and-

And all of a sudden, you noticed Schlatt. Niki’s loud cheering and the screaming from the field, Quackity’s victory announcement anyway, were sunk in the pounding of your heart, which suddenly muffled everything else. Schlatt stood on the side of the field, one arm rejected on the fender, the other around Tubbo’s shoulders. He was bent down to the boy, pointing again and again at the field and seemed to explain the game to him in more detail. You couldn’t describe the feeling that was flowing through your body at the sight, but you had to smile automatically. Your heart was beating faster, pictures were pushing into your imagination. Scenarios where you and Schlatt were actually together, grew older together, lived together in your little house. Loud kids laughing in the hallways, little shoes next to yours, colorful fingerprints on the wall in the living room.

No, you shouldn’t have such thoughts.

You detached yourself from the sight that made those forbidden desires rise up inside you and got up with Niki to go down to the ice, where the chaos was great. Techno and Phil had lifted a loud yelling Will on their shoulders and stood right in front of the gloomy Dream-team, Fundy jumped up and down next to the three to clap at Will again and again. However, as soon as you and Niki had left the final step behind, Will slid down from his throne, came towards you with outstretched arms and pulled you two tightly to his chest. “You saw the goal, didn’t you? At the last second, I put that thing right under Dream’s nose, HA! Suck it, Dream-boy!” He shouted the words over your heads to the angry Blonde.  
“That’s called luck, Wilbur. ” you heard Dream call and you turned out of the hug. In frustration, Dream had stuffed his hands into the pockets of his green sweater and you could see his fists pressed against the fabric. “You were just lucky.”, he repeated and Will laughed. “That’s it, anyway! Have you seen my two good luck charms here?” He leaned down, pressed first you, then Niki a kiss on the cheek. Dream curled his nose. “Next time we’ll win, I promise you this!” You looked over him and had to grin. “If you take care of Sapnap until then, it looks like he’s gonna hit Quackity in the head.”

All turned their attention to the loud shouts, which had hitherto been drowned in cheering, but could now be clearly attributed to Sapnap and Quackity. The two of them ran across the meadow, Quackity in front, Sapnap with his hockey stick and “You timed it wrong!. I'll shove your stupid stopwatch down where the sun never shines! They bought you, didn't they!” roaring after the distraught Mexican and behind him Karl. “Oh God, oh God, SAPNAP!” George threw his hockey stick on the ground. “I hate him”, he mumbled to himself as he tried to catch up with his friends with Dream.

You watched them until a clap sounded behind you. As soon as had you turned Tubbo had rushed to Will and wrapped his arms around his middle. “You were great Will! I didn't understand much, but Schlatt always told me when you guys did something well.”  
Looking up from Tubbo to Schlatt, you found that his gaze was already on you. He had his hands shoved into his black coat pockets, his chin buried deep in a red scarf. You wanted to suppress a grin and you bit your lower lip, but the corners of your mouth twitched upwards anyway.

“Come on, Tubbo”, you heard Will say softly “Let’s go to the rest of the team and celebrate our victory. If you congratulate George on a great game on the way, you can even have my hockey stick.” “What? Really?” The boy tapped you on the shoulders and you looked at him again. “Will you come with me, (y/n)?” If Niki hadn’t stepped in and hugged him, you wouldn’t have been able to resist those big eyes of the child, despite the man waiting for you. “(y/n) and Schlatt still have something to talk about. Maybe they will come afterwards” Before the boy could disagree, Will had already held his stick in front of him and Niki led him away from the court.

For a second you watched them go, your brain wracked over whether Niki actually knew about you and Schlatt, when you felt his hand on your shoulder. “Will you do me the honor and join me on the ice?”, he asked and you nodded.  
“I'd love to.”  
You were the only ones left, you noticed, as Schlatt changed his boots for skates at the stairs before joining you on the ice. As you slowly lead off, he once again amazed you with how elegantly he held and presented himself. While heat rose in your cheek after only a few seconds and you occasionally tripped over your own feet, Schlatt looked like he always did; or didn't let his mask fall. He slid almost silently across the ice, hands clasped behind his back. It was as if falling or stumbling was not even an option for him.

It was ridiculous, of course Schlatt could skate perfectly. He could do everything perfectly. You were focused on not getting out of balance, all your thoughts were focused on your legs, and how you would take the next step, that you hadn’t noticed that Schlatt had adjusted to your pace and was watching you closely. Half a lap later, he seemed to have seen enough and drove a little closer to you. As soon as his blades had moved into your field of vision nailed to your feet, your head rushed up in alarm. Your concentration turned to the man next to you, his chains glistening in the sun, the golden light of the lanterns resembling the dots in his dark eyes, snowflakes caught in his dense hair, and then there no longer was a ’one foot in front of another'.

Your body seemed to act faster than your brain could have registered and your right foot slid away from you. This was followed by an unfortunate reaction, the fall of the dominoes, starting with you trying to keep yourself on your feet as your two legs slid in two different directions, the ground getting closer and closer to you, not helping your less than relaxed state. Your arms flailed in the air in search of some kind of hold, which they didn't find at first.

“Schlatt, help”, you said wretchedly, you could already feel your butt on the ice, the wetness and the cold that would follow, and the shame that you were so embarrassingly easy to get out of the concept, because it didn’t suit him and his already too big of an ego, so he slid to you until he could put his arm around your side, stabilizing you. His hot breath hit a vacant spot in your neck, resulting in the feeling in your legs that all the bones and joints had been removed and you were sure if it weren’t for his arm, you’d have made your acquaintance with the ice surface by now.  
Schlatt held you back, waited for you to have a firm foothold again, and then moved away from you gently. “You have to stop thinking.” He started, and in anticipation of a nasty comment, you rolled your eyes. Schlatt smiled, “That’s not what I meant, darling. What I meant was that you can trust yourself. You’re a fast learner and I’m sure that if you turn off your beautiful head, your muscles will have memorised the steps and posture and everything will just happen.”  
You didn’t have time to enjoy the compliments, Schlatt had already grabbed yours with his hand. This surprised you more than compliments from him ever could. Schlatt was not one who showed his affection for others openly. Yes, privately, he poured it on you, showed you how much he liked the secret between you two. That was it now and still here, a secret that only your beds and you knew. 

Still, you stood on the icy surface, snow falling silently from the sky upon you, you could hear the laughter of your friends from behind one of the hills, and Schlatt intertwined your fingers like it was the most normal thing in the world. Silently, secretly, you grinned into your scarf. Your heart beat faster, your cheeks grew hot. Why did being in love have to feel like an uncontrollable monster that controlled your body and thoughts? Nothing you thought about helped stop the butterflies and rockets in your stomach; his nearness made you feel like you could fly.

“I told you you could do it, love. ” Without you really noticing it, you and Schlatt had set off, and in fact you skated over the ice without any problems. The uncertain wobble and the fear of falling had simply gone away. Schlatt even made you feel so confident that you put more strength into your steps, leaned further forward. Schlatt laughed as he let himself be pulled much more by you and his hand slipped out of yours. With a challenging smile, he caught up with you. “Catch me.”  
That, he didn’t have to tell you twice.

Soon after, your laughter had stopped and instead of chasing each other over the ice, you two stood in the middle of the ice surface. When Schlatt noticed that your steps had slowed down, he drove towards you until you fell against him exhausted. Silently, he had opened his coat so you could press your face against his dark green sweater and had his arms around you. You were at peace. With your arms around his neck, and his around your middle, you drove so slowly over the ice that the scratching of your skates was lost in the silence between you. You were in your own little world, where only you existed, where your political views divided no one, your little love adventure strengthened, and where Schlatt seemed to forget its rough corners. But every high is followed by a fall.

His hands lightly lifted your top and you looked at him warningly,but he already placed his cold fingers on your skin, eliciting a soft cry from you and resulting in a gentle punch to the back of his neck. “You're such an idiot.”, you murmured, whereupon he laughed warmly and blew a kiss on your hair. 

“Will would never make you that happy.” Since his lips were still hovering over your head and you could literally feel the words, it was actually impossible to have imagined them and yet you were unsure, though they sounded much more like Schlatt had been trying to say them to himself. They hovered between you, growing larger and larger until they drove you apart.

With his hands behind your back, Schlatt tried to stop you, hold on to him, but you pushed away from him. You stared at the man in front of you without understanding. “What did you say?” Your voice sounded insecure, fearful he would repeat the same thing and at the same time hopeful you had been wrong. Schlatt’s hand wrapped around your arm, his eyes ran over your defensive posture. “(y/n”, he tried, his voice gently and quietly. You shook your head. “No, Schatt. I want to know what you meant. What’s Will got to do with all this?” 

His fingers pressed harder into your jacket, trying to hold you while you slid away from him. “You know what I mean.”

Suddenly, it was too tight in your jacket, too hot. The scarf around your neck got tighter and tighter and you jerked it off, looking for a liberating breath that would loosen the knot in your lungs. “What are you talking about?” 

“About the stupid kisses on the cheek, the giggling and his arms around your shoulders, (y/n)!”, called Schlatt and his whole attitude changed. His face became gloomy, he tugged his eyebrows and his right corner of his mouth twitched upwards. For the first time in a long time, he reminded you of the young man who trampled everything in his path when it brought him to his destination. It scared you. And with the fear came the anger that he thought he could twist everything to suit him.

“How I maintain my friendship with Will is none of your business.”, the air in your lungs stung with every word. “Why are you even comparing yourself to him?” Schlatt took a step toward you, the jewelry in his hair jingling menacingly in the dead silence around you. “You're mine. This boy has nothing on me!”, he yelled loudly and your stomach turned. He came closer, you jerking back until your skates hit the wooden blockade.  
The sight of you resembled that of a predator that had driven its victim into a hopeless corner, so much did he tower over you.  
Anger grew over fear and you tightened your jaw. “You're crazy.”

This made the little spark between you grow bigger. It was no longer the spark of excitement that usually accompanied you. This one resembled a fire, its heat licking at you, its smoke choking you, burning you. 

It took more of your emotional strength as you pushed him away and skated past him across the ice to the side of the stands. You could hear the crunch of ice beneath you, as if it might break through at any moment. You were surprised Schlatt didn't follow you. The rift in your heart grew. A moment ago his jealousy towards Will had shone through and now he didn't even seem to want to fight. “Then get lost!”, he yelled after you and you flinched. Tears burned in your eyes, blurring everything before you. “That seems to be the only thing you know how to do!”

You stumbled down from the ice to the wooden benches, trying as best you could to untie your shoelaces with your trembling hands. Hot tears dripped down onto your reddish fingers, onto the shoes you flung onto the ground with a force as soon as you put on your normal shoes. Upset, you trudged up one of the hills, towards the coast, your hands clenched into fists. Your nails pressed into your palms and it hurt. It hurt so much.

One last time before you went down the other side of the hill, you turned around. The clouds had become thicker, snow fell down in thicker and thicker flakes, so that it was almost impossible to see the hand in front of the eyes.

Still, you recognized Schlatt’s figure in the middle of the ice. His black coat was blowing in the strong wind, he had pushed his hands into his pockets and was staring at you. A shiver came over you again. How could it be the same man who woke you up this morning with gentle kisses? Who weighed you to sleep last night with one of his stories? The one you felt safe with. The butterflies in your stomach suddenly felt infinitely heavy, pulling you down. You would have been willing to settle the argument, even if it was incomprehensible to you that Schlatt was so jealous.

The conversation after your first night together had been clear, the memory of scattered ball clothes and the taste of red wine on your lips crystal clear before you.  
“This is going to be nothing more than a fling.”, Schlatt had murmured as he had pressed you against your bedroom door.  
“No one can know about us, remember. It's our secret.”, Schlatt had whispered as he had laid you gently on the pillows.  
“Lovers, but only behind closed doors? Sounds like an exciting adventure to me.”, you'd grin and had let yourself fall.

All these beautiful memories seemed to have been drawn out the love and warmth. They left nothing more than a tug in your heart. Were you that wrong about him?

❅

The surrounding air grew colder, the snowfall heavier. The clouds gathered over you and it felt like all your energy was leaving you. Every step you took was harder and the closer you got to the wooded area on the coast, the emptier you felt. What was the matter? You wrapped your arms tighter around yourself and lowered your head to shield your eyes from the harsh wind. Suddenly, a wobble went through the earth that nearly knocked you off your feet. Snow crashed down on you from the tree branches, burying the bushes around you in a thick blanket of white. Startled, you jerked your head up as a bang was heard. 

Then a scream. It was a cry you had heard many times before when the boys had fought duels in the fields.

Tommy

You ran as fast as the heavy snow would allow you to run in the direction from which the cry had come. The cold air slashed your lungs like razors, your sides burned, but you ignored the signs of your body and continued to run through the woods until you approached a loud hiss. Blond hair shone through the trees, you were about to call for the boy when something rose up in the air. You were frozen. Tommy was pressed against a tree, his hands around a sword, which he held to protect him, and behind him a creature you only knew from scary stories.

On the other side of the tree floated a gigantic -about three meters tall-, black, three-headed skeleton. It had no real body, consisting mostly of a musty-looking rib cage with rotting scraps of skin dripping down it, turning the snow beneath it into a tar-like liquid, and ending in a drooping spine. At the collarbones, the two smaller skulls were fused; both had their jaws wrenched open to deafening screams. The middle and larger skull was split down the middle, a blue vapor flowing from it, bathing the entire being in a bright haze of mist and causing throbbing pain in your forehead area.

The worst was the smell. It smelled of rotten eggs, burnt meat and at the same time you couldn’t really assign it; the swaths of smoke from the wither clouded your senses. Your knees threatened to bend, any sense of balance had left you and you fell to one side. A second later, a black bullet flew from one of the smaller skulls to the point where you had just stood and blew the floor. Earth, snow, gravel and branches were shattered in all directions, stones hit your ankles.  
Then Tommy spotted you. The boys face now left the remaining color from the already calcareous face and he put a foot out from behind the tree, which triggered something in the being. You could watch one of the bullets fly out of the right skull and hit two yards in front of Tommy.

The fear of the boy awakened power in you that you used to crawl behind the bushes to Tommy. Your pants were soaked instantly and it felt like you had no feeling left in your hands.  
“(y/n), help”, Tommy shouted. His screams went through your marrow and bones, spurred you on to speed up, and while the Wither turned the opposite direction and fired there, you got up and stumbled the last few feet to Tommy. You threw yourself at the boy, you pulled him down with you. Immediately he clung to you, dirt-smeared fingers grabbed yours. Before you could speak, it burst out of him: “I didn’t want this. Will said it was too dangerous, but I wouldn’t listen. I didn’t hear, and now I don’t know what to do. Please, I didn’t mean to!” He leaned his head against your neck. Anxious, you saw over his shoulder to the Wither, who continued to turn the area into a minefield. You knew the two of you could never escape together or even fight the Wither. Tommy had his sword with him, but it would only help in close combat, and the explosions and the fog kept you out of range. In your mind, you went through all the possibilities, you couldn’t stay behind that tree for much longer.

The longer you hid, the weaker you became and the more damage the Wither did. There was only one way, you started to realize, and you knew Tommy would never approve of it.

❅

The ice cubes clanged quietly against the glass, as Schlatt swayed it back and forth, lost in thought. His gaze was directed out of the window, at the heavy snowfall that had colored the whole city white, and yet he seemed to have no interest in it. After arguing with (y/n), he had retired to the White House, pulled out his best bottle of whiskey and tried to mute the noisy thoughts, numb the pain in his chest. He couldn’t get rid of the picture, (y/n) tear-filled eyes, watching her escape from the ice, shouting those ugly words, as (y/n) vanished behind the hill, wrapped in snow and wind. He didn’t know where this jealousy of Will, one of his closest friends since childhood, came from, why he couldn’t restrain himself and why he let (y/n) go.

The weather was ruthless, the wind ripped through the trees and the snow continued to fall merciless. The shaking of the shutters tore Schlatt out of his fixation. The hybrid ruffled his nose before lifting the glass to its lips, where he stopped. Outside, down the road, there was something going on. 

Curiously, Schlatt got up from his chair and stepped closer to the window, his glass in one hand, hoping to see (y/n). Instead of his love, he saw Tubbo standing wildly with his hands in the air, gesticulating in front of Will and Niki.

A bad feeling spread in Schatt’s stomach area; something was wrong, he knew it. Hastily, he put his glass back on his desk and hurried to his office door, tore his coat off the coat rack along the way, and called for his right hand Quackity.

❅  
“We'll have to split up.”, you whispered into the blond mop of hair. Tommy looked up at you, eyebrows drawn together, and shook his head stubbornly. You were still huddled together on the floor with the boy half sitting on your lap. “I don't want that.”, he reacted snottily and ran the back of his hand over his reddened nose. Looking deep into his eyes, you raised your hand to his cheek. A smile played around your lips as you stroked the boy's furrowed brow.  
“I should have known you'd pick up that stubbornness from Will, I see him in you a lot by now, you've grown up so much.” Now Tommy had to grin too, though he tried to hide it. The grin immediately fell off his face, however, as the Wither skulls screamed loudly and his lower lip began to quiver.

You couldn’t stand to see him like that. He was so young. In this weather, he should sit inside with a hot chocolate, play games and not hide in the woods from a wither to fear his life.  
“Shh, it’s going to be okay.”, you tried to calm him down, but the trembling in your voice could not even convince you. “You have to get the others, Will, Dream, Techno- all fighters.”, you began to explain your plan a second time, this time with more urgency. You wouldn’t let Tommy die today, you’d make sure of that. Another squeal of the wither. Tommy turned around, but you shook him on his shoulders until he looked at you again, his blue eyes were wet with tears. “Listen to me!” you whispered as forcefully as you could in the volume.

“You have to run now, Tommy, faster than you’ve ever run. Don’t look back, keep on going till you get to town. Get everyone together, explain what happened, but waste as little time as possible. You will describe to them where I am, where the Wither is, and then you will stay in the city.”

“I want to help! It’s all my fault, I have to fight him.”

“No! You will stay in the city, you have to promise me that!” You pulled him into a firm hug one last time and whispered, “I’ll make sure you get back safely. ” Unseen by him, tears ran down your face as you tried to memorize the feeling of him in your arms one last time.

❅

His guess was right, something was wrong, Schlatt realized when he and Quackity left the White House and went down to the street. Unfortunately, he also noticed that the whiskey couldn’t appease his jealousy towards Will, because all he had to do was look at the Brit and he saw himself again at the hockey game, where he had to watch from a distance, how Will had put his arms around his girlfriend, had put a kiss on her cheek, which she had commented only with laughter. Will noticed the gaze lying on him, his finger tapping his lips thoughtfully towards him, and Schlatt gritted his teeth. The mood was too tense for his jealousy to be right in place.

“What happened?”, Quackity broke the awkward eye contact between the two old friends, and only then did Schlatt notice Tubbo shifting uneasily from one leg to the other. Instantly he pulled the boy to his side and ran his hand through his brown hair.  
“Tommy has been missing since this morning and I'm worried, with the weather we've been having- he may have got lost and can't find his way back.” The boy explained, his voice breaking over several times. “I'm sure we can find him, we can start a search party.”, Niki suggested and Schlatt was about to agree when his eyes fell on Will who continued to pace back and forth, his hands now clasped behind his back. Anyone else would have attributed this behavior to pure worry, concern for a missing child, but Schlatt had known Will too long not to recognize an inner conflict in his best friend.

“Will?”, he asked and the brunette looked up, his eyes wandered restlessly from Schlatt, to Niki, to Quackity. ”Tommy and I had a fight.”, he started and Niki sighed. ”Nothing will have happened Will, it’s not your fault.” Schlatt watched carefully as Niki put her hand on Will’s cheek and turned his head towards her. 

He missed the feeling of (y/n)´s hand in his.

Will tore himself away from Niki with an unusual roughness for him. “That’s not it. We had a fight, Tommy wanted to try something he found in one of Techno’s books, but I told him not to. Tommy wouldn’t listen, he got mad and pushed me away, and I walked out like the fool I am! I thought he was old enough to know his limits, but I’m afraid the exact opposite has happened.” He was silent for a second. ”He wanted to spawn a wither.” Although the snowstorm had already swept temperatures to unknown depths, Will’s words left a much worse cold in Schlatt’s heart. He stared at Will, hoping it was just a joke and he missed the punchline. However, he evaded every eye contact.

“A wither? You left him with the thought of summoning a wither?” Quackity repeated next to him, he did not believe the Brit in any way. Not even when he nodded.  
”Oh Will, why didn’t you tell us about this earlier?” asked Niki and Will ruffled his hair. "I don’t know! I didn’t want to worry you unnecessarily. How would I know that the boy is so caught up he won’t come back in a blizzard?”

"Would he be able to have spawned the Wither?", Schlatt interjected, while he continued to stroke Tubbo's shoulder reassuringly with his hand. He could only guess how scared the boy must be. First his best friend had disappeared and now they were talking about one of the most dangerous beings he had possibly summoned. 

Ever since Tubbo had shown an interest in politics and had roamed the White House over and over again, Schlatt had taken him under his wing, looked after the boy, gave him a place to retreat, knowing how tempestuous his family could be at times.

Over the months, he had grown so fond of the boy that he was determined to protect him from the dangers of the world. If it were up to him, Tubbo wouldn't even be there now, but waiting in the White House for the blizzard to pass or playing a round or two of chess with Schlatt in the fireplace room. 

“I don't see how Tommy could have gotten the materials. The only ones who own something like that are Dream, Techno and Phil. Dream, he would never ask about it and Techno and Phil locked them away in the house. If he did, he'd have to have stolen from them, and I don't want to imagine that.”, Will replied, and Schlatt nodded considerably.

“We should still go looking, the weather isn't necessarily getting any better, and once the sun has fully set, our chances won't get higher.”  
Quackity was right, there wasn't much time left until nightfall and everyone was aware of what could happen if Tommy had actually gotten lost or something had happened to him. 

“Quackity, take Tubbo to the White House and notify everyone on the emergency system. We expect everyone here in ten minutes at the latest and then we'll split up!” At Schlatt's command, Quackity turned and ran back down the gravel path to the house; Tubbo did not leave Schlatt's side. “I want to help find him, he's my best friend.”  
“I understand you”, Schlatt squatted down to look the boy in the eye. ”You’re worried about Tommy, and we’re very grateful to you for coming to us, but if Tommy actually spawned a wither, I can’t take you into the fight. You will stay in the city, you have to promise me that!”  
“Promised.”, Tubbo hesitantly agreed and Schlatt pulled him into a short hug. 

“We’ll get Tommy back safely, I promise you. ” He whispered to him before he got up and sent Tubbo Quackity after him.

As soon as the tall dark doors behind the two had closed, Schlatt turned to Will and Niki, his look stone-cold. “You’re pissed that I didn’t say anything.”, Will noticed and Schlatt raised his eyebrow.  
“A little, but now there’s nothing we can do about it. Let’s just hope nothing bad has happened.”

“If you’d just told us what’s going on at noon today, me and (y/n) would have been able to find Tommy and talk the nonsense out of him.”, Niki muttered into her scarf.  
Schlatt flinched at the mention of (y/n) ’s name. “(y/n) knew about the dispute?” His heart started beating faster as he realized what might have happened.  
Niki and Will nodded. “Yeah, I bumped into them after I broke up with Tommy.”  
“But the two of us knew nothing more than that they were having a fight.”, added Niki. “Why?” Her voice sounded critical, and Schlatt could tell from her questioning look that she must have noticed his concern for (y/n).

Schlatt felt his heart stop beating for a moment and the queasy feeling spread further. He felt like he was about to throw up, his environment began to spin slightly and he rubbed the side of his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. “After the game there was also a dispute between the two of us, I hurt her so badly that she disappeared over the hills towards the coast.”  
With each word, his voice grew harsher, his eyes hurt worse, and he could feel a twinge in his chest. Will's and Niki's reaction confirmed his fears and tears gathered in Niki's eyes. “Will came from there, what if” That was as far as Niki got, Schlatt had already started running.

The wind howled so hard around his ears that he could barely hear Will and Niki's shouts behind him. The raging of the storm tore at the gold chains in his hair, nearly jerking him off his feet. The cold ate through every layer of his clothes until it gnawed at his bones. It was the images his brain projected that spurred him on and gave him the strength he needed to push his physical limits. His thoughts rolled over as he ran to the hills that made for a bitter taste in his mouth. What if Tommy had actually managed to summon a Wither? What if (y/n) wanted to help him and now both-, he refused to elaborate on that thought.

The situation was so unrealistic that Schlatt escaped a desperate laugh; why did he have to send (y/n) away? None of this would have happened if he had stopped her, apologized for those words. When he was finally man enough to tell her honestly how he felt. 

“It’s going to be nothing but a fling” , he had whispered to her in the heat of the night, as if his heart had not already beaten for her alone. He wanted to love her, hold her, to have her to himself. Fulfill her every wish, show her how much she meant to him and that he couldn’t live without her. She gave him strength, in moments like these, when she was not even present, but he felt it in his heart and that was enough to ignite his hope.  
Even if he had to defeat a wither with his bare hands

He had just passed the abandoned skating rink, where a lone pair of ice skates lay next to the bleachers, when he could make out a figure through the flurry of snow. Again he laughed, this time with relief, and he almost fell to his knees in the snow, thanking the gods, until the figure approached and he looked into the dirty, and tear-stained face of Tommy. And Schlatt collapsed.

❅

The world around you had become gloomy after Tommy and you broke up. The last light he had carried in his pure heart had disappeared with him among the trees when you had put your plan into action. Until the end, Tommy had resisted leaving you, didn't want to let you go, and certainly didn't want to let you risk your life. Your plan had sounded simple in your head, you would run towards the beach, drawing the wither's attention to you and thus giving Tommy a chance to run into the woods. But as the boy disappeared and you ran across the frozen ground, further and further away from the spot in the woods, you found it harder and harder to look forward to a happy ending.

The fight against the wither was much more a fight against yourself and the rational part of your brain that was screaming at you to give up. The other part wanted to see Schlatt again, love him, hold him, have him for yourself. You didn't care how he saw your relationship- you wanted to tell him how you felt about him and that you didn't want to have an affair anymore. You wanted him, all of him, or not at all.

And ’not at all' seemed to get closer and closer, you had to realize frightened after a quick glance over your shoulder. The wither approached you at a nonadjustable speed and tore apart every tree that stood in its way. You left a trail of sheer chaos, death, and perhaps an easy-to-find trail for the help Tommy was supposed to get. You just made it to the dock, when one of the wither balls hit the ground right in front of you. The shock seemed to make your body realize that all the reserves were more than exhausted and you just couldn’t take it anymore and with a wheez you fell on your knees first to the snow.

At the same moment you were ready to give up, the blue mist slowly enveloping you and all the pain in your body disappearing, the wither turned around. If you had been able to shout out your joy, you probably would have, however, at the sight of the shining armor you could just barely make out with blurry vision, you could only manage a twitch of the corners of your mouth, and as a flurry of arrows drove the Wither further towards the water, an infinite sense of peace flowed through you. 

“(y/n)!” 

Your head snapped up as a swinging light moved through the snow towards you. Despite the commands being shouted around, you recognized the voice immediately and you struggled back to your feet to run towards the light.  
With a relieved sob, you let Schlatt catch you and hold you close. His arms wrapped around you so tightly that you thought for a moment he would take your breath away. After all you had experienced in the last few hours, you knew you were safe with Schlatt and so you snuggled up to him, running your hands over his body, feeling completely secure that you had finally arrived home. He trembled under your touch, and as you ran your hands over his cheeks, you saw the tears in Schlatt's dark eyes.

“I thought I’d lost you.”, he pressed out and pressed his forehead against yours. His lips chased after yours and a faded taste of whiskey spread on your tongue. It gave you the last push.  
“Schlatt, can we take the next step?” you asked unsurely against his lips and you felt his breath stunted. His hands pressed you slightly backwards by the shoulders until he was able to take a look at you. His gaze went to your belly, then up to you and down again. When you realized what he was implying, your eyes opend wide and you shook your head. “Not that!”

It was unmistakable how relieved Schlatt took a deep breath, but after that, he wore an even more confused look. He tilted his head slightly, started talking, and then fell silent again. Questioningly you looked at him until he carefully took your hands in his. “Am I wrong, or are you just asking for my hand in marriage, or do you want me to ask you to marry me?”

“What?”, your voice slipped into high pitch. “I want a relationship with you! A real one, not just this bed jumping!”, you shouted so loudly that it could be heard over the ongoing battle against the wither. Schlatt wrinkled his nose. “Wait.”  
He pulled you closer again by his hands after you took a step backwards and lifted them to his lips to breathe a kiss on your knuckles. “You thought we were- we weren't in a relationship?”  
“Now I feel stupid”  
“You thought that after all these months you were still just a scratch on the edge of my bed and not the most important thing in my life? I mean, after myself.” He added the last part with a grin, which took away your tension a little. Then you realized. “Oh my God, that's why you were jealous of Will!”  
With a “What!” Schlatt took aside your hand, which you had struck in front of your forehead. “Yes, you were! You really had no reason though- Will and I are good friends, nothing more.”, you calmed him with a smile.

Once again he kissed the knuckles of your right hand and fixed you with his gaze, which made your knees soft. “Very good, because now that we are on the same page, I would like to tell the whole world that you are mine.”  
You placed your free hand on the place of his chest right above his heart. “That’s the most beautiful thing you’ve ever said to me.”  
“Then what was my comment about your butt?”  
“That was the second most beautiful thing.”

At the same moment, a gust of ice-cold wind swept over to you from the sea, passing through your body as if it were nothing, leaving a tremor that made Schlatt pause anxiously. He immediately took off his coat to put it over yours, which by now was just as wet as your socks. You couldn't even contradict that he was now only wearing his dark green sweater; a loud death scream interrupted you even before you could have finished your thoughts. Spellbound, you stared at the spot a good twenty yards away where Techno and Dream were pulling their swords from the motionless skeleton. The blue mist still played around their ankles, but steadily seeped into the ground until there was nothing left of it. Something about the wither skeleton seemed to draw you in and you took a step towards it.

A hand grabbed yours, held you back. “Are you sure you want to go there? After all that could have happened to you?”, Schlatt asked. He was right, who knows what would have happened if they hadn't shown up in time. “But you're with me.”You continued to look at the skeleton that everyone had stood around, blocking your view. “You help me fight the evil.”  
Your hand his you walked the meters to the group and tried to ignore the pitying looks from all sides. You would stay strong, Schlatt helped you do that. Shoulder first, you pushed past Eret and Puffy to step into the inner circle, in whose midst laid the black bones. 

“Techno? What powers does the Wither have?”

Your question was not unreasonable, the last few hours had burned themselves into your brain, every step was repeated again and again, and an unrealistic presence had embedded itself in your heart that seemed to feed on your fear. The situation was too unrealistic and if Tommy had learned everything he knew about the wither from Techno, he would be able to tell you more. The man continued to poke around in the bones while talking about the wither, as if it still was a mythical creature and would not be laying in front of all the eyes of the world.

“The Wither is one of the representatives of death. It has many features, such as the smoke, which causes headaches or nausea for many. However, the most dangerous or interesting thing about him – depending on how you feel about this fantastic being – is the effect on the psyche. Affected people report that they have only felt emptiness in his vicinity and it is believed that he can withdraw positive feelings and thoughts in order to be able to defeat his victims faster and, ah” Techno pulled up his black fabric trousers at the waist and knelt down in the snow, with the protective armor crunching the snow to the side. To the amazement of all, he drew a shining star out of the earth. The pink-haired man put on his golden glasses, which had been hanging around his neck, and looked at the star from all sides.

“Here we have him; the Nether Star or that thing which kept the wither ’alive'. I would take it, after all, it was my materials that Tommy had used without consent. ” When the boy was mentioned, Schlatt’s grip became firmer. You were too busy thinking about Techno’s words about the Wither, though, than you could react to it. It was scary how you yourself were about to give up. The ice-cold tightness in your entire body reminded you of that and you knew it wouldn’t go away so quickly.  
The experience had stripped the beach of the purity you had previously associated with it, and instead there seemed to be this dark cloud hovering over it that would remind everyone of that day. 

Not really noticing what was happening around you due to your tiredness, you noticed too late the two people who had appeared at the edge of the beach. It wasn't until Schlatt grumbled, “That he even dares coming here,” under his breath and his hand clenched that you shook yourself out of wither's trance and followed his gaze.

Your heart skipped a beat.

You teared yourself away from Schlatt and dashed through the crowd to meet the boy, who had already started running at the sight of you. Tommy fell around your neck with a force that sent you both reeling. His arms wrapped around you and he pressed his face into your neck, just like the last time you hugged. “I'm so proud of you Tommy, you were able to get them all.”, you laughed and let the boy spin you around. “You really are the bravest hero anyone could ask for.” Gently, you brushed the hair from his face and stroked the bridge of his nose with your finger. “Thanks Tommy.”  
“Oh sure, I'm only known as a lady hero!”, he grinned his cheekiest boyish grin that stretched from ear to ear.

“Can you please tell me what you were thinking?” it thundered behind you and you two split up. Schlatt stood, arms folded in front of his chest next to Will, who also mustered Tommy. Under the strict gaze, the blonde seemed to shrink directly a few inches, his head disappeared between his raised shoulders. “That was unforgivable Tommy, I hope you know that! Summon a wither? I knew right from the start that there were limits to you and your childish behavior.” The man now turned to Will, who put a lock under his hat and, unlike Tommy, did not seem to be affected by Schlatts anger.  
“I should ban the boy for his behavior, you know that.”

“What?” you and Tommy shouted in fright, but Schlatt silenced your protests with a movement of his hand. “He has endangered the lives of all, he has robbed them, and what is not so bad, yet worth mentioning: he has destroyed half the forest and parts of the beach. These are of course things that we can repair and in a little time the stolen material will be recovered, but I cannot and must not overlook the fact that (y/n) almost “  
It was easy to see how Schlatt had to pull himself together saying the words and it drove tears into your eyes “(y/n) could have died.”

“I know and I will feel guilty for like forever.” Tommy interrupted him, and Schlatt’s gaze softened for a second, until he put on the role of mayor again. “You’re still going to help make it up.”, he warned with a raised finger. Relieved you sighed as the boy scrunched his face. “So you want me to clean up? Aw man, I don’t feel like that.”

“That’s the least you can do.” Will nudged his shoe against Tommys. ”Now you come along and apologize to Techno; let’s see what you should do as compensation for him.” Once again Tommy moaned annoyed and stared at the named man, who seemed to continue searching through the remains of the wither. “He’s gonna turn my neck around, please, no Will. Will!” begging Tommy drew up the name of the Brit in the length, who didn’t cared and consistently walked away after giving you a warm smile.

“Wonderful to see you alive, (y/n).”

“I am very grateful to you for giving him another chance; who knows what would have happened if you had actually banished Tommy or Will.”, you said softly and saw Will put his arm around Tommy's shoulders.  
Schlatt next to you smiled. ”Darling, do you really think I could banish Tommy after what we did back then?” Tired you looked up to him and pressed yourself closer to him. “Let’s go home Schlatt, who knows what will happen tomorrow.”

**Author's Note:**

> if you liked this please leave kudos or comment to help me! I'm always open for criticism and feedback.


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